Rosh Chodesh Av is upon us, and no one looks forward to the increasing laws of mourning we Jews take upon ourselves at this time. Among the restrictions that help us focus is that we do not eat meat during the days in Av that lead up to the fast of Tisha b'Av. That can pose a problem to many Queens in the Kitchen as it often knocks out our go-to dishes and throws our families' expectations out of whack.

And maybe that't the point. During this period we are forced to recognize that things are not normal. Not in the way we dress, not the way we eat and not in the way we go through our days. Things are just not normal for the Jewish Nation as long as we do not have our Beis HaMikdash.

So in this not-normal week and a half, I've gone through the pages of Cooking for The King and The Kosher Channel and brought it all together for you: Ten ideas for family fish dinners, frittatas step-by-step, and "Cook Once, Eat Twice" Recipes that save you time and money in the kitchen. I hope this helps you accomplish all you have to do during these nine days, both in the physical world and the spiritual one as well.

To everything there is a season. We hope and pray this Tisha b'Av will be the end to our feeling the pain and loss. The suffering that comes from our struggle to hold on peace in the Land of Israel. The shame of a Jerusalem who bears the burdensome weight of an immoral society. And the loss we cannot fathom; seeing the daily destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, where the Divine Presence yearns to once again dwell in our midst. May it be so, soon.